Mike DeRosa loves playing baseball, loves watching baseball, and says that baseball is always on TV at his house. It’s only fitting that America’s pastime is a fixture in the DeRosa household seeing as how Mike was a prime time performer for the Indians.

Mike is a catcher by trade who moved to left field last year and helped North Haven win the Class L state title. In fact, Mike made two of the biggest plays in the championship game by hitting a home run and later throwing out a runner in a pivotal situation.

This spring, Mike was back at the catcher’s position and also took on a new role of senior captain. Mike batted .367 with a .487 on-base percentage, while guiding the Indians to the state quarterfinals.

Whether he’s playing baseball or watching it, gunning down runners from left field or behind home plate, Mike has had an immense impact on North Haven baseball and the experience has immensely impacted him.

“It was some of the best four years of my life. I made really good friends and played some really good baseball. It’s nice to know I could help the team win a state championship and be a good player for North Haven,” says Mike. “Never give up. Play as hard as you can and, no matter what, give it everything you have and just be the best player you can be.”

Mike came to the Indians with a few years of AAU experience and started at catcher for the freshman squad, but he played left field as a junior because North Haven already had an established backstop in Nick Proto. Mike made the move willingly because he wanted to help his team and, when the State Tournament rolled around, Mike proved a huge help to North Haven with its season on the line.

Mike had eight hits in the tournament and played the game of his life in the state final. With the Indians trailing East Lyme 1-0 in the second inning, Mike lined a two-run homer to left field that gave his club the lead. Then in the sixth, Mike caught a ball in left and threw out the baserunner attempting to score from third. North Haven won 3-2 and captured its fifth state championship.

“The home run was awesome. It was really cool. I was pumped after that and I don’t think I sat down on bench. The adrenaline was going. I’d just hit a home run and had to go out and play the rest of the game,” Mike says. “When Richie [DePalma] came in [to pitch after the runner reached third], I’m like, ‘Man, I want a fly ball hit to me. I can throw this kid out.’ And the ball gets hit my way. I didn’t think about it. I threw a bullet home as hard as I could, Nick caught it, and I was pumped after that. The team shouted ‘Don’t run on the guns!’ as I was coming in. That was really fun.”

Being a captain isn’t always fun as the job comes with lots of responsibility, although Mike enjoyed the role and knew when to say something to keep his team upbeat during trying times, while letting his hustle do the talking all the time.

“I always tried to stay positive. We were playing close games and losing and it’s hard, but you have to show the kids that you’ll give everything you have, so they don’t give up,” says Mike. “Every once in a while, you get everyone together and tell them that we’re a good team and have what it takes, so stay positive and show everybody that you care and we’ll win ballgames.”

The Indians needed to win their last two ballgames of the regular season to make states this spring and they won both, after which Bob DeMayo’s squad won two more in the Class L Tournament. Mike led North Haven with 12 RBI and DeMayo says he would have had even more if he didn’t hit the ball so hard. DeMayo also praises the way Mike worked North Haven’s young pitching staff as the Indians’ catcher.

“Mike has excellent bat speed and is one of hardest hitters I’ve ever coached. When he hits the ball, it goes off it like a rocket. Mike was deprived of RBIs because he’d hit the ball to left field so quickly that I’d have to hold runners up at third base,” says DeMayo. “Mike’s ability to step in and handle an inexperienced pitching staff the way he did says a lot about him. Ninety-nine percent of our innings from last year were gone, so we had kids come up and pitch on the varsity level for the first time and Mike did a nice job with them.”